A top female Belfast boxer has dedicated her next fight to her murdered friend Eamonn Magee.

Kristina O’Hara from Lenadoon, will fight Elaine Harrison from Mayo on June 20 in Belfast.

And she plans to give everything she has in the ring in Eamonn’s memory.

Kristina, 19, who works at the Crumlin Rd Gaol, said: “I got a call from my coach Gerard McCafferty at 7.30 in the morning to say Eamonn had been killed hours earlier. I couldn’t get my head round it. I still can’t.

“Eamonn was the best fella, the most genuine person you could meet. He’d always put the hand out to people, give them help when they needed it.

“He was a great wee boxer and helped me a lot with my technique.”

Murdered Eamonn was ambushed by a knife wielding killer lying in wait for him as he came outside to check for a pizza delivery last Saturday.

His death has rocked the boxing community across Ireland and friends have been supporting his father Eamon Snr, former WBU welterweight champion Eamonn Snr, mum Mary and sistere Aine who all shared his love of the sport.

European silver champ Kristina, who hold 12 Irish titles, joined the St John Bosco Boxing Club at the city’s Conway Mill around the same time at Eamonn, about seven months ago and they trained together.

Glammed up: champ Kristina

She said: “Gerard McCafferty is the main man, he’s a brilliant coach but I had Eamonn who helped me too. I had a bit of a problem with technique in one area and Eamonn and I get into the ring and worked it out. We kind of got involved in what I’d call school boxing together and it was enough for me to get over that issue I’d had. I’m a better boxer for having known Eamonn Magee and I think we’d all say we’re better people for knowing him.

“I visited his dad Eamon tonight and the whole place is just broken. We’re holding back the tears becaue if one person goes, we’ll all go and it’ll be amess.

“The professional boxers are fighting on June 6 and I’m fighting on June 20 and Gerard has said we need to hold it together and keep training until then.

“After that we we probably fall apart but at least we will have done our best for Eamonn.

“He had his life cut short and thre tragedy is too much for us to accept right now. All we can do it stick together and look after each other just like Eamonn would have if this had happened to someone else.

“We’re lucky that in the boxing community, the sport itself and the training gives us all something to get our heads into.; In those 90 minutes in the gym there’s no time to think about anything else, it’s just what you;re doing in the moment.

“That will help save a lot of people in the next weeks and months as we try to come to terms with Eamonn’s passing. We will just do our best to take it one day at a time for now and we’ll do everything we can as a community to support his family who are totally devastated.”